Judith Merkle Riley crée des romans historiques empreints de romantisme. Son œuvre se distingue par sa riche évocation du passé et ses personnages complexes, qui plongent le lecteur dans les intrigues et les passions d'époques révolues. D'une recherche approfondie, elle assure l'authenticité historique tout en tissant des récits émotionnels captivants.
A 17th century tale of sorcery based on Paris police records. the heroine is Genèvieve Pasquier, a fortune teller who uses her powers to manipulate the liveds of the famous at the court of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
The unforgettable Margaret of Ashbury returns in the second book of the trilogy that began with A Vision of Light .Margaret, a resourceful midwife, is living with the insufferable relatives of her third husband, Gilbert de Vilers, known as Gregory. She is carving out a life for herself and her daughters despite the hostility and greed of her in-laws. But when Gregory is captured in France and held for ransom, Margaret knows she must take action—her in-laws are too tight with money to be of any use—so she teams up with her old friends Mother Hilde, the herbalist, and Brother Malachi, an alchemist on a quest for the secret of changing base metals into gold. Together, the trio plan to rescue Gregory and bring him back to London, where he and Margaret can start a new life away from his meddling family. And thus begins a wild romp across fourteenth-century Europe. Murderous noblemen, scheming ladies, truculent ghosts, and a steady stream of challenges plague the journey. Margaret will need not only her special gift of healing, her quick mind, and her independent spirit but the loyalty of her friends and the love of her new husband to carry them all safely home.
In 1355, Margaret of Ashbury depends on renegade friar Brother Gregory to record her life story and state of Mystic Union, and he is forced to accept the state of grace of this "mere woman"
The final adventure in the beloved and bestselling Margaret of Ashbury trilogy, which began with A Vision of Light and In Pursuit of the Green Lion .Margaret of Ashbury is ready to settle down; the medieval healer is looking forward to an uneventful life in the country. And, indeed, life with her true love and a brood of rambunctious children is nearly perfect—except for her husband Gregory’s ever-meddling family. Finding himself deep in debt once again, Gregory’s father has plotted to sell Margaret’s daughter off in marriage to save his woodlands from a greedy abbot. In a panic, Margaret turns to her old friend Brother Malachi to help save her daughter by whatever means necessary. The tension within the feuding family rouses an ancient being that dwells in a spring at the center of the disputed woodland. The watery creature has its own plans, and its eye is on Margaret’s infant son.Favorite characters return, the stakes are high, and the air is thick with intrigue and danger. Written with the historical accuracy, supernatural plot twists, and humor that Riley’s readers have grown to love, The Water Devil is a high-spirited adventure that brings Margaret’s odyssey to a satisfying conclusion.
Set in the treacherous court of Henry VIII, the story follows Susanna Dallet, a widow who becomes a miniature-portrait painter after her husband's murder. As she rises in status and navigates the intrigues surrounding Princess Mary, she discovers an inherited manuscript linked to an ancient mystery. With danger closing in, she partners with Robert Ashton, secretary to Archbishop Wolsey, to confront a sinister society intertwined with supernatural elements. This tale blends action, humor, romance, and suspense in a deadly game of survival.
"Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying of hands by the council of elders" (1Tim. 4:14). Members of the church today can comprehend Paul's sentiment to Timothy. While not all ordained, all baptized Christians have experienced the laying on of hands in baptism. They have been touched by that mysterious mix of charism, initiated into the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit, as well as launched into life with Christ through the institution of the Church with all its concreteness, ambiguity, sinfulness and goodness. Through the lens of Christian theology, along with the sociology of Max Weber in his study of charism and institution in modern society, Judith A. Merkle analyzes the interaction and tautness between the concept of powerful grace through baptism and the institution in the life of the modern church.Weber asserts that freedom and creativity in modern society only become manifest within social relations. Since these highly valued modern experiences do not exist outside the institutional framework, they exist in tension with the constrictive and creative aspects of the institution. Judith A. Merkle offers the reader perspective on this contemporary experience in the church.
Im Paris des 16. Jahrhunderts blüht das Geschäft der Wahrsager und Horoskop-Ersteller, der Alchimisten und Giftmischer. Auch Katharina von Medici, die Gemahlin König Heinrichs II., hat sich der schwarzen Magie verschrieben, um ihrer erbitterten Rivalin, der Mätresse des Königs, endlich die Macht zu entreißen. Helfen soll ihr dabei eine zauberkräftige Schatulle. Durch Zufall jedoch gerät diese in die Hände der jungen Dichterin Sibille, die nicht um die unheimliche Kraft des Kästchens weiß. Bald fühlt sich Sibille verfolgt, und ein mysteriöses Ereignis jagt das nächste. Einzig der Prophet Nostradamus ahnt, wie er weiteres Unheil verhindern kann. Und er spürt, daß Sibilles Horoskop ein Geheimnis birgt, das den Fluch der Schatulle zu brechen vermag...
SPISEK NAJZUCHWALSZYCH KOBIET W PARYŻU, WRÓŻBITÓW, CZAROWNIC, TRUCICIELI Akcja powieści rozgrywa się w siedemnastowiecznym Paryżu, a jej fabuła oparta jest na dokumentach sądowych ze śledztwa, które prowadzono po aresztowaniu zawodowej wiedźmy i trucicielki, Marie Bosse. Dochodzenie ujawniło istnienie potężnej tajnej organizacji płatnych morderczyń, na której czele stała Katarzyna Montvoisin, wróżka wyższych sfer. Kiedy Ludwik XIV dowiedział się, iż jego kochanka, markiza de Montespan, kupowała od paryskich wiedźm zaklęcia, afrodyzjaki i trucizny, zatuszował sprawę i śledztwo przerwano. Powieść rozpoczyna się w okresie, gdy ta niezwykła kobieca 'mafia' znajduje się u szczytu władzy. Zawiązany zostaje wówczas spisek, w którym idzie o życie króla.
Mroczne żądze, niebezpieczne przepowiednie, czarna magia…. XVI-wieczny barwny fresk obyczajowy Francji u progu wojny domowej, z galerią niezwykłych postaci otaczających ,,wizjonera tysiąclecia'. Francja, rok 1556. Na dworze Henryka II niepodzielnie panuje wpływowa metresa władcy, Diana de Poitiers. Odsuwana od męża królowa Katarzyna Medycejska, zrozpaczona ciągłymi upokorzeniami, ucieka się do czarnej magii, by pozbyć się rywalki. Ponieważ jednak kolejne próby zawodzą, wzywa na pomoc nadwornego astrologa, Nostradamusa.